Something Binding Us Together
by do i need a pen name
Summary: After the war's end, Harry Potter leaves England on a search for a distant relative that will bring him all the way to San Francisco. AU Prequel to "The Parent Trap" now a collection of one-shots.
1. Something Binding Us Together

**Author's Note—**

 **Long explanation:** Several years ago (well, more like more than half a dozen, but saying it like that just makes me feel old), I wrote a story called  The Parent Trap. In the naivety of youth, after I finished it I thought I should write a prequel, wherein Harry Potter would basically have to be written into the entire series of _Charmed_. Clearly that lofty venture never took off. However, I was recently going through files on my computer and ended up in the folder I lovingly labeled "Will Most Likely Never Finish." And sitting there was the prologue to the prequel-that-never-was. I knew turning it into a full-length story was _never_ going to happen, but I thought what I did have written already was substantial enough for a short one-shot. So here it is, in the off-chance there's still anyone out their waiting for the prequel I once promised all of you, only 7 years late. But, alas, when I posted it I was totally prepared to stick to my original plan to make this a one-off story. One-shot. One chapter. Singular. NO more after this chapter. And then all of the reviewers wanted more. And people kept putting it on alert, even though it was clearly labelled as COMPLETE. And then I had a few vague ideas for random scenes that could happen in this story-verse. And so now this story is no longer complete. Rather, I am turning it into a collection of one-shots. For sure, there will be **2** more chapters after this one, unless there are any requests for specific things people want to see happen. So, there we go. This story is no longer a complete one-shot because peer pressure works.

 **Short explanation:** This is a collection of one-shots, all of which occur prior to my story  The Parent Trap.

 **Disclaimer—I do not own** _ **Harry Potter**_ **or** _ **Charmed**_ **. Also, the title of this story is taken from the lyrics of 'San Francisco' by The Mowgli's.**

* * *

 **Something Binding Us Together**

It was a beautiful spring day in San Francisco. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and the air rang with the laughter of happy children ready for school to get out and summer vacation to begin.

A black haired man walked down Prescott Street. When the occasional car passed by, he didn't look up; the green eyes behind his glasses were intent upon the piece of parchment in his hands. It was after he passed a house with a for-sale sign in its yard that he finally looked up.

Harry Potter stood in front of a red Victorian manor, number 1329 located in the middle of the street, unsure of how to proceed. According to the papers he'd managed to recover from the ruins of his parents' cottage in Godric's Hollow, this was the house he was looking for. But what would he find here? More importantly: _who_ would he find here? He stood looking at the manor for a good five minutes, before he took a deep breath, nodded his head slightly as if agreeing with something someone had said, and walked up the front steps. With another deep, calming breath, Harry reached his hand out slowly and rang the bell next to the front door.

The bell rang out inside of the house, and all was silent for a moment after that, before Harry heard the sound of footsteps approaching the door. A young woman with brown hair pulled the door open a second later.

"Hello," She said, smiling pleasantly at Harry, "Can I help you?"

"I'm looking for a Penny…Halliwell?" Harry replied slowly, trying to conceal the hopefulness in his voice.

"Just a moment," the girl replied, turning around, one hand still resting on the doorknob, "Grams! There's someone here to see you!"

Harry swallowed nervously. He hadn't even taken the time to think that maybe Penny had a family of her own; he'd been more worried about whether or not he would actually find her here. But before he could take any more time to worry about this unforeseen development, he once again heard the patter of footsteps approaching the front of the house.

"Who is it, Piper, dear?" The voice of an older woman asked from within the house, where Harry couldn't see her. He could, however, see the young woman before him—Piper, apparently—shrug in response. "Why don't you go back to the kitchen, then, dear; we wouldn't want anything on the stove to burn," The older woman said in response, and Harry noticed her voice had changed. Clearly there was a pleasant tone to her voice as she spoke to Piper, but there was a hint of something else there now…it became more guarded, almost a combination of suspicious and hostile. Because of a stranger at the door? "I'm sure I'll just be a moment."

With another shrug and a friendly smile back in Harry's direction, Piper stepped away from the door and walked off into the house. Harry didn't watch her leave, however—his gaze now focused on the older woman standing before him. She looked friendly enough, he supposed. But underneath her somewhat welcoming look, there was something else…something that Harry recognized but couldn't quite name.

"How can I help you, Mr…?" The woman trailed off.

"Potter," Harry answered immediately, "Harry Potter."

The woman nodded and, although logically it was an irrational response, Harry felt his spirits soar at her obvious lack of recognition. It had been so long since he could remember meeting someone new who didn't know his name before he had the chance to give it. And then, when he did give it, not automatically glance up to his forehead, to see the scar that was partially concealed by his hair. Anonymity was rare in his life; it was nice.

"Well then, Mr. Potter, what can I do for you?" The woman asked. And suddenly Harry recognized what he was seeing and hearing in her posture and tone. This woman was battle-hardened, ready for a fight and to defend those she cared about, no matter what. It was exactly what everyone around him had morphed into during the war. It was also unexpected here, on this nice, unassuming street halfway around the world.

"I suppose this is going to sound a bit strange to you," Harry began, and immediately a look of suspicion appeared in Penny's eyes, but she thankfully didn't interrupt as he continued, "But I came here about your brother."

Penny's breath seemed to catch momentarily in her throat. "Gordon," She said softly, her defenses suddenly falling. "What about him? Has something happened to him?"

"Well…" Harry faltered, unsure as to how he should answer. The idea that she might not know about the fate of her own brother had never crossed his mind while making his plans to come look for her. And so he made the best of the situation that he could, telling her, "He…well, he passed away. But that was quite a few years ago. I'm sorry; I didn't realize you didn't know."

"Poor little Gordon," Penny said softly, her gaze faraway. She shook her head to clear her vision and refocused on Harry with a hardened expression. "But if that's not what you came to tell me, why are you here now, Mr. Potter?"

"I…" Harry trailed off. This woman was not at all what he expected; she was rather unnerving, to tell the truth. "I…knew his daughter."

"I never got the chance," Penny said, once again lost in her memories. "Such promise and potential that girl showed." Again her gaze refocused on him. "But she's years older than you, how do you know Lily?"

Harry took a deep breath. All of his searching led him to the right place, then. This really was the person he was looking for…One of the last people on Earth alive with some sort of tie to his parents…and his family.

"She's my mum." Harry said simply.

At this, Penny immediately narrowed her eyes suspiciously at Harry—not exactly the reaction he had been hoping for when he revealed their familial connection.

"Prove it," Penny said shortly.

Harry just looked at her incredulously. "How am I supposed to prove to you who my mother was?"

Penny was silent in thought for a moment. And from the expressions that flitted across her face, Harry could tell she was waging a silent war with herself inside of her head. She glanced back over her shoulder, presumably to make sure there was no one there to overheard what she was about to say, before turning back to face Harry.

"What's the family secret?" Penny finally asked.

"How should I know?" He said with a sigh of defeat.

"If Lily really is your mother, then you should know what the family secret is." Penny paused. "Of course," She added softly, more to herself than to Harry, "My girls…" She trailed off here though and looked at Harry expectantly.

"Mum died when I was a year old," Harry said shortly, his expression blank, "Her and my dad. And both of her parents were also dead by the time I was born. How do you really expect me to know what the 'family secret' is?"

"Lily died, too…" Penny's face collapsed. She gave a small sigh. "So young…But at least Gordon didn't have to live through it…not like I had to with Patty." Then, something Harry said seemed to register with her and she looked at him sharply. "If they all died so long ago, without even telling you about…well, anyway, how did you find us-me?"

"Luck," Harry said with a shrug. "I found this…record-book of sorts, and it listed mum's family members in it. And then I happened across this address while I was going through some of my parents' things recently."

"A record-book?" Penny repeated and Harry nodded. "Where did you find this record-book?"

"My…school," He replied carefully, unwilling to mention it by name to a muggle.

"Your school…" Penny said, again repeating Harry's words. "And your school wouldn't, by any chance, happen to be Hogwarts, would it?"

"What's it to you if it is?" Harry questioned, suddenly on red-alert. How could she know about Hogwarts? Unless…

Penny shrugged. "I just know that's where Lily went to school. But not Petunia, you know."

"I know," Harry said shortly, his thoughts briefly turning to his narrow-minded aunt.

"Of course you do," Penny said absentmindedly. "So then, if you went to Hogwarts, what's the family secret?"

"I just told you—" Harry suddenly broke off, realization dawning, "Oh…"

Penny just looked back at him expectantly. She may be from the Evans side of his family, but maybe this woman _wasn't_ a muggle.

"Magic," Harry said simply. "We have magic."

Now, finally, Penny's shoulder's sagged fully in defeat. "Gordon died," She said softly, "How?"

"I'm not really sure, to tell you the truth," Harry said slowly. "It happened before I was born. You see, there was a war going on, the First War. I think maybe they went after mum's parents when she was in school…because mum was a muggleborn."

"What's a muggleborn?" Penny interrupted.

"Someone who's magical but doesn't have magical parents," he replied, "Their parents would be muggles; people without magic." Harry shook his head slightly here. "That's the whole reason that stupid war was even being fought: prejudice and blood purity."

Penny glanced uneasily in the direction her granddaughter had disappeared in now, for some reason.

"How long will you be staying here, Mr. Potter?" Now it was Penny's turn to shake her head. "Forgive me, I'm always so on-edge thinking a demon is going to attack. What did you say your name is, dear—your _first_ name?"

"Harry," He replied. "I don't really know how long I plan on staying. I mean, what with the end of the war, there's really no place I have to be…no one who needs me…"

Penny frowned at the mention of the word 'war' and by the time Harry finished speaking she had made up her mind. She did store his last few words away in her mind to be brought up again later, though.

"Why don't you come in, Harry," Penny said, stepping aside and giving Harry room to walk into the manor. "After all, who am I to refuse family?"


	2. Running Away Never Solves Anything

**Author's Note:** Guys. This was not supposed to happen. Let me be up front with you: I never intended to continue this story. I meant it when I said I couldn't see myself writing a novel-length prequel anymore. This was supposed to be a one-shot type of deal. You hear that? One-shot.  One. Shot.

However, peer pressure is a thing—because apparently people did not understand the concepts of 'one-shot' and 'COMPLETE' when the previous chapter was originally posted. And so now this is actually going to be a **short collection of one-shots**. And because I enjoy when other people enjoy what I write, feel free to review with any requests for things you might want to see out of this story-verse. Honestly, at this point I only have one more idea so, please, do share.

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 **Running Away Never Solves Anything**

Over an afternoon of cookies, coffee, and conversation with Penny and Piper, a condensed and highly edited version of Harry's life was shared.

'Condensed' because eighteen years (more, really, if you counted all of the time since Penny had last seen her younger brother, Harry's maternal grandfather) was a lot of time to catch up on in a single afternoon. 'Highly edited' because before bringing Harry into the kitchen to be properly introduced to Piper, Penny quickly and quietly explained that her granddaughters had no idea that magic existed and she would like very much to keep it that was for the foreseeable future.

But now it was just Harry and Penny sitting out in the conservatory. Piper had just left for a quick run to the nearby market to buy ingredients for dinner—she had the day off from her usual job at the bank, but had been inspired by Harry's surprise arrival to prepare a nice family dinner—while Prue, who both Penny and Piper had mentioned in passing over the course of the afternoon and whom Harry was mostly certain was Piper's older sister (see above: Harry had just spent the past three hours doing a _lot_ of talking about his life), was not due home from work for a while yet.

"Now that it's just the two of us," Penny began slowly almost as soon as the front door shut behind Piper, "There is…something I'd like to ask you."

Harry nodded receptively. Since she had waited until Piper left, he had a feeling this might have at least something to do with him being a wizard.

"I—" Penny began, then faltered. She pursed her lips tightly in a frown as she drew in a sharp breath, before beginning again, "I was wondering if you could tell me anything about my brother, Gordon, your mother's father. I know you said you don't know much about how he died…but surely there's something you must know about him? Anything at all? It's just…I haven't seen or heard from him in so many years. I tried looking in on him over the years, which is how I knew about Petunia and Lily, but anyone could have learned what I did then. And, well, I could never get close enough for fear he might see me or find out that I was watching. You see, when he left…when he ran away from his life here, he never wanted to see anyone in this family ever again and after how long it took me to track him down the first time, I couldn't risk him running away again."

"I'm sorry," Harry told her, "I really don't know much about him. I know he moved to England. He changed his name to Gordon Evans when he got there. From things Aunt Petunia has said over the years, she seemed to think he favored my mum over her. But I've also learned that Aunt Petunia is very good at being the victim when things don't go precisely how she wants and expects them to. It did seem like he was very proud of my mum for her accomplishments at Hogwarts, though."

"I'm sure he loved them both equally," Penny stated magnanimously. "And I'm glad that he supported Lily and her abilities. It's actually comforting to hear. Maybe…maybe we could have reconciled, if he'd lived."

Harry frowned. He knew that his grandfather had obviously put his life in San Francisco far behind him when he moved to England—why else would he have changed his name? But he also didn't know what the impetus had been for such a life-altering decision. Well, maybe now was the time to find out.

"Why did he leave?" Harry asked.

"He didn't leave; he ran away," Penny scoffed, and Harry was rather taken aback by the sudden change to her tone. "I probably shouldn't act so bitter about it still," She continued immediately with a sigh. "Not right after wondering if we could have reconciled if he was still alive."

She paused for a moment, and her eyes closed briefly while she took in a deep breath. When she opened her eyes again, her gaze was focused beyond Harry, her tone equally faraway.

"He ran away," Penny began, "Because he was scared. There had been one too many demon attacks around the Manor, and he had no powers of his own to protect himself with. He never had any life-threatening injuries…but it still spooked him enough that one day we got into an argument—he disapproved of me exposing my first husband, Alan, and my daughter, Patty, to the world of magic and all of the harm that can come with it, you see. And so we argued. He was fifteen and he was confrontational when he got angry. It wasn't the first time, and I assumed it wouldn't be the last. He left that night while everyone was sleeping and we never spoke again."

"He ran away because of magic?" Harry questioned.

Penny nodded, a small grimace on her face. "He ran away from everything that makes me who I am. And then it killed him anyway."

Harry frowned at that. Because that actually seemed like a rather fair assessment of things. Despite being raised by his mother's only sibling, Harry basically knew next-to-nothing about his mum's family. But, like he told Penny earlier, his best guess was that Gordon and Francine Evans were targeted by Death Eaters for being the parents of a muggleborn.

"I'm sorry you two never got the chance to work things out," Harry said sincerely. Then he grinned wanly, "I know a thing or two about what's it's like to lose someone too soon."

"Well," Penny said resolutely, "It is unfortunate that you never got the chance to learn about your family and about Gordon's life after he left home. However, I would be more than happy to fill you in on the family history that I do know, if you'd like."

"I _would_ like that," Harry told her, and then was almost immediately overcome with the sudden urge to yawn. His day was definitely starting to catch up with him. He hadn't been in the country anywhere near long enough to get used to the time change and so, while the clock on the mantle was telling him it was the middle of the afternoon, his body was definitely protesting that it was currently the middle of the night.

"Another time, perhaps, though," Penny continued, watching on in amusement as he succumbed to the urge. "For now, tell me, Harry, how long are you planning to be in San Francisco?"

"Honestly? I hadn't thought very far past tracking you down," Harry admitted. "I would like to stay for as long I can, though. I'd like the chance to get to know you and your granddaughters."

"Well, then," Penny declared, swiftly getting to her feet and indicating that Harry should follow her. "You should of course stay here. We'll have to put you in Phoebe's room, but heaven knows when the next time is she'll show up on my doorstep. Come along, it's just upstairs."

And before he could even put up a token protest—he had no idea who this Phoebe person was, and Penny seemed to have no idea of her current whereabouts, but Harry still felt a bit bad to apparently be taking away her room—Penny was herding him upstairs and showing him to a cozy room with a very inviting-looking bed.

Penny was half-way out the bedroom door again when she paused with her hand on the doorknob, her expression serious as she looked at Harry.

"I want you to stay, Harry, I really do. I meant it earlier when I said I would never refuse family. Just…take it from me…no, take it from Gordon's example: running away from your problems never solves anything. So, know that you're welcome to stay as long as you like, but that war you mentioned earlier? When you first arrived? The one you definitely glossed over while we were talking with Piper? It might be over now, but I know what it looks like when someone is running away from something. Don't be afraid to eventually leave here again."


End file.
